Astronomy quiz question: evening star Venus?

Astronomy 210 Quiz 2, spring semester 2020
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

The locations of Mercury, Venus, and Earth are shown in the diagram below (not to scale, and orbits have been simplified as circles instead of ellipses).


At sunset, Venus will be:
(A) low over the east horizon.
(B) somewhere high up in the sky.
(C) low over the west horizon.
(D) not visible in the sky.

Correct answer (highlight to unhide): (D)

If a line is drawn from Earth to the sun, the observer at sunset (6 PM) is located perpendicular to that line.


Everything below that line would be below the horizon, such that Venus will not be visible at sunset.

Section 30674
Exam code: quiz02n1xI
(A) : 5 students
(B) : 3 students
(C) : 5 students
(D) : 18 students

Success level: 59% (including partial credit for multiple-choice)
Discrimination index (Aubrecht & Aubrecht, 1983): 0.88